Cining Palace

The Empress Dowager kept her eyes tightly closed, her expression solemn, like an old monk in deep meditation. The Empress Dowager beside her looked tense and uneasy, constantly glancing at the Empress Dowager out of the corner of her eye.

After a cup of tea, the Empress Dowager said in a deep voice, "Now, have you gotten what you wanted?"

"Your Majesty, your humble servant..."

The Empress Dowager shrank her neck and spoke in a low voice, "Your Majesty, Consort Xuan has been in the palace for a year, but she has yet to conceive. I am very worried."

"Although Consort Xuan and I are not from the same mother, we share the same father. I served the late Emperor but was unable to bear him a child, and Consort Xuan has also been unable to conceive for a long time. I am worried about this."

“I am worried that Consort Xuan will end up like me, childless for the rest of her life.”

The Empress Dowager snorted coldly, opened her tightly closed eyes, and looked at the Empress Dowager with her wise gaze.

"So, when your elder sister came to the palace to ask you for help, there were clearly better ways to solve the problem, but you still chose to bring Wang Jia into the palace and make her a concubine of the emperor, just like Consort Xuan."

"Even if Consort Xuan does not become pregnant in the future, we can still settle for the next best thing and have Lady Wang Jia give birth to a prince or princess with Khorchin blood."

The Empress Dowager lowered her head and remained silent.

With a cold laugh, the Empress Dowager continued, "Have you ever considered what the Emperor would think if he knew about the relationship between Lady Wangjia and our Khorchin?"

The Empress Dowager murmured.

“Your Majesty, in the Emperor’s harem, Consort Hui, who came from Mongolia, passed away early, leaving only Consort Xuan. I am doing this for the sake of harmonious relations between the Manchus and Mongols.”

The Empress Dowager sighed softly, her thoughts drifting away.

After a long while, the Empress Dowager suddenly looked much older, and murmured, "I have already given so much for the glory of Khorchin. Without Fulin, I cannot lose Xuan Ye as well."

“After Xuan Ye turned eight, I personally taught him. Now he has just become a qualified emperor, and I do not want to go through the pain of that year again.”

Do you understand?

The Empress Dowager lowered her head, her eyes dull and lifeless.

Yikun Palace

Xu Lejin and her two servants returned exhausted. The main hall was brightly lit, and the palace maids and eunuchs serving them were solemn and dared not utter a sound.

"Your Majesty, I greet you. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace."

Xu Lejin walked into the main hall and met Kangxi's gaze directly. She was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward, knelt down on one knee, and bowed to Kangxi.

Kangxi's solemn gaze fell on Xu Lejin.

After a short while, Kangxi spoke in a deep voice, "Consort Yu, you are pregnant. Why didn't you stay in Yikun Palace to rest and recuperate? It's late at night and the dew is heavy. You are already in a bad mood."

"Lianzhi, Ruhua, how did you serve Consort Yu? You allowed your lady to go out while heavily pregnant."

Lianzhi and Ruhua prostrated themselves on the ground, repeatedly begging for forgiveness.

Xu Lejin swallowed hard and said softly, "Your Majesty, it has nothing to do with Lianzhi and Ruhua. It was my own choice to go out. My sisters in my family have done something wrong, and I feel uneasy and ashamed towards Consort Wang Jia, who is about to enter the palace. Therefore, I can only go to Cining Palace to apologize to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager."

"If Your Majesty wants to blame someone, then blame this concubine!"

After saying this, Xu Lejin closed her eyes resignedly, awaiting the emperor's wrath that was about to be unleashed.

After a moment of contemplation, Emperor Kangxi personally helped Xu Lejin up. “Wang Jia was summoned to the palace. Although my beloved concubine’s seventh sister was involved in the affair, it has nothing to do with my beloved concubine.”

“Even without my beloved concubine’s seventh sister instigating Wang Huashan, my grandmother and mother would still urge me to select new concubines to enter the palace.”

Xu Lejin looked puzzled, not understanding why.

With a sigh, Kangxi said, "If there is no Wang Jia in the palace, there will be Qi Jia, Liu Jia, and others. It's just one more person in the harem, as long as Wang Jia enters the palace and behaves herself."

"For the sake of my grandmother and mother, I will grant her an honor. I have long known about the relationship between Lady Wangjia and my grandmother and mother!"

Xu Lejin lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Emperor Kangxi dismissed the eunuchs and palace maids, then pulled Xu Lejin into the inner room and talked to her incessantly until midnight before finally falling asleep.

Xu Lejin, however, had Kangxi's words on her mind and stared at the ceiling with her eyes open, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

It wasn't until the next day at dawn that Kangxi got up to attend the morning court session. Xu Lejin, with dark circles under her eyes and looking exhausted, prepared to get up and help Kangxi change his clothes, but Kangxi stopped her.

"My beloved concubine is pregnant with the emperor's child, so please rest well. The palace maids and eunuchs will take care of these matters."

Xu Lejin respectfully agreed.

Before leaving, Emperor Kangxi said, "Although Consort Zhao holds power in the palace, she is still only a consort and has not yet been formally established as empress. I will have someone tell Consort Zhao that you are pregnant and heavy, so I will exempt you from your daily morning and evening greetings."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I thank you for your consideration."

Suppressing her surprise, Xu Lejin respectfully saw Kangxi off from Yikun Palace.

Only after Kangxi's figure disappeared outside the main hall of Yikun Palace did Xu Lejin come back to her senses and coldly instruct Lianzhi and Ruhua, "Make sure that the palace servants of Yikun Palace are not to reveal a single word of what the Emperor said today."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Lianzhi and Ruxiang looked serious, keeping Xu Lejin's instructions firmly in mind.

Outside the palace, at Xu Muer's house

Xu Qingxi was taken back by Madam Xie on the grounds that her birth mother, Aunt Tao, was seriously ill.

After returning to Xu Muer's house, Xu Qingxi was effectively placed under house arrest by Xie Shi in a courtyard. She was not allowed to step out of the courtyard, and all her eating, drinking, and relieving herself were done in this courtyard. Even the maids and servants who served Xu Qingxi were all replaced by Xie Shi's people.

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